'Occupy New Orleans' march to begin at noon today

A group of protesters calling themselves "Occupy New Orleans" will march across the city today before setting up an "encampment" at Duncan Plaza across from City Hall where some say they plan to live for months. Inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, which began in New York City three weeks ago and have since spread to at least 80 other cities, the group is demonstrating against what it sees as the disproportionate power wielded by corporations and the rich.

"I feel that corporate money in politics has completely removed the voice of the people," said David Ludman, 32, who plans to participate in the protest today. "This is the first step at moving towards dealing with that problem."

The march will begin at noon at Tulane Avenue and Broad Street and end at Lafayette Square, outside the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans. The locations were chosen "to highlight the continuing crisis of the prison industrial complex" and the "corrupt financial institutions that have caused so many to suffer," according to a statement released Tuesday by the group.

Taking its cues from the New York protest, Occupy New Orleans makes all its decisions through "general assembly," a series of votes that aims to reflect the views of everyone involved. The process can be lengthy -- simply selecting the march's route took three hours for the group of about 100 to decide.

That's one reason the group has not made a list of concrete goals, though it intends to in the upcoming weeks, said participant Michael Martin, 25. The movement also has no leader or spokesperson -- each member is allowed one vote. The resultant lack of a coherent message has drawn skepticism even from would-be sympathizers.

Organizers of the New Orleans protest say they expect hundreds to participate; the group has more than 1,000 followers on Twitter and more than 4,100 fans on Facebook. The group received permits Wednesday allowing them to march, according to New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Remi Braden.

In light of 700 protestors' arrests in New York City on Saturday, Occupy New Orleans held a training session for legal observers Tuesday that drew 20 people, mainly law students.

Any arrests that occur will most likely be on charges of disturbing the peace, the coordinators said.